There are a variety of techniques available for preserving visual images ranging from professional film and television to home video and still cameras. However, average consumers are limited to the later. A large portion of a consumer's use of still and video cameras occurs during vacations and outings where efforts are made to capture the experiences of friends and family. Too often these efforts are unsatisfactory because the equipment and technique of the average consumer are severely constrained as compared to professionals. Some venues, such as certain amusement parks and national monuments, offer preshot films and still prints for sale.
A still photograph contains one or more individuals at a particularly memorable location or event. If the photograph is taken by the consumer, that person is often left out of the picture. If the photograph is taken by the amusement park at a predetermined site, the composition of the photograph is constrained. Moreover, the fee typically charged for such a photograph makes the purchase of more than a few cost-prohibitive. The still photograph captures only a moment in time, and does not reflect the majority of the consumer's experience.
A variation of still photography that has recently been marketed involves the use of a "blue screen" backdrop which allows the consumer to select a desired image to be edited onto the photograph's background. The use of a digital camera to take either an "action shot" or one with a "blue screen" background yields a higher resolution photograph. Again however, the final product is a still photograph. An "action shot" is one in which a still photograph is taken of one or more individuals on a ride, e.g. a roller coaster. This technique has the advantage of being more dynamic than the posed photograph.
Yet another method is the use of a moving film medium such as a home video tape camera. With the use of such a camera dynamic or full motion situations can be recorded. However, one of the consumers must operate the camera and is therefore not in the video. In addition, video tape cameras for home use have certain limitations and will not work in some situations, such as low-light environments. Moreover, there are some images that are just too difficult or impossible to capture, either because cameras are not allowed at a particular location or because it is not possible to film the desired image from the optimum location. An example is an image of a rider during a 360.degree. loop on a roller coaster taken from the center of the loop.
As an alternative, some amusement parks have recently begun to sell full motion video tapes of a "typical" day at the park. However, these tapes involve only of actors or individuals unknown and unrelated to the consumer, and thus do not have any personalized images of the consumer incorporated in the tape.
No system exists in the prior art that allows for a combination of professional image recording and yet is personalized for each consumer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,136 to Ciampa et al. discloses a method and apparatus for storing a massive inventory of labeled images, for example, real-estate parcels in a city. Each visual image is taken with a video camera and stored in a memory device, such as a magnetic disk. The information is accessed from the magnetic disk, which is associated with a computer monitor to define a route to be followed with a video camera. The video camera scans the images and provides video signals in the order in which corresponding digital information is accessed. Each video image is labeled using the digital information corresponding to the television signals with the labeling information. Multiple frames of television signals are recorded on a video recorder. One frame is selected from the multiple frames and recorded on its own frame of the video disk record.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,531 to Tabata discloses a vertical interval signal and coding under SMPTE control of a signal having at least a video program portion with sequential fields separated by vertical intervals, and also having associated sequential field related identification code signals. A desired field related identification code is selected and at which coding of the program commences. Continuously reoccurring vertical interval code signals are generated at predetermined intervals corresponding to like intervals between groups of fields of the program signal. The identification code associated with that program signal is subsequently compared with the selected identification code. When the identification codes match, the composite video program signal is signal mixed with the vertical interval code signal in a timed relationship to insert the video interval code signal in corresponding vertical intervals of the program signal.
A master play-back unit retrieves a master video recording and its associated master time code. A slave play-back unit retrieves a slave audio recording and associated time code. A micro-processor scales the slave audio time code to produce a virtual slave time code so that the master time code and virtual slave time code are prepared to produce a virtual off-set to be maintained substantially constant to synchronize operation of the master and slave play-back units. The magnitude of the virtual off-set may be selected, as can a scaling factor to vary the retrieval speed of the slave play-back unit relative to the master play-back unit. Separate advancing of the master tape and slave tape may be effected by advancing the master tape to a required position and subsequently advancing the slave tape using the virtual off-set.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,234 to Abe discloses an apparatus for extracting and combining a changed region in an image corresponding to a moving object. An area to be monitored is picked up by a television camera. A television camera signal corresponding to the monitored area is converted into digital data in units of frame and stored in frame memories. The image data stored in frame memories are read out, and a changed region is extracted as an image of a moving object. The extracted moving object image includes a shadow image. However, only the moving object is extracted from the frame. The shadow image is removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,892 to Lince discloses a method and apparatus for identifying and selecting edit points in digital audio signals recorded on a record medium. The apparatus includes a random access memory for storing a reproduced segment of the digital audio signal and its associated time code signal. A monitor is included for displaying the image corresponding to the reproduced portion of the associated video signal, and a D/A converter for converting that part of the digital audio signal segment corresponding to the displayed image and read from the random access memory by reference to the stored time code for reproduction by a loud speaker. A video screen displays the wave form of the analog converted audio signal with a cursor to relate the wave form to the image displayed on the monitor. A register for recording the time code read from the random access memory and corresponding to a required audio edit point at which the cursor is then positioned is also included.
It would be advantageous to have a system to overcome the drawbacks of prior methods of recording the highlights of an average consumer's vacation or outing that allows for the incorporation of professional film services and equipment at a reasonable cost. The present system is drawn towards such an invention.